Today we finished our trip around the world with a visit to Asia! We heard quite a few exciting stories about real people, places, animals and products in Asia. One of the favorite stories was about Mt. Everest (and another about the daring climbers who were about to reach the summit). We also talked about water travel in Vietnam, a Japanese garden, a boy eating with chopsticks and dancing to sitar music in India.

We had Snappea crisps, mandarin oranges and seaweed snacks. Yum!

As one of our art projects today, the Primary children made a Korean Dragon Puppet. They heard the tale of how long ago the Koreans thought that the blue dragon would protect them from the east (which is why you could see blue dragons on the east side of over 7,000 temples in Korea!) and that the white tiger protected them from the west. We made our very own Dragons out of paper bags and blue paper. Did you know that the only difference between a Korean dragon and a Chinese dragon is their number of claws (Korean dragons have four claws and Chinese have five claws)?

The toddlers enjoyed painting paper lanterns.....

...and making fans with the ever popular 'dot-dot' markers.

The final lanterns and fans

The primary children also made paper Uchiwa (paper fans) from Japan. Did you know that they are typically made of split bamboo and "washi" (a Japanese paper)?

And since today was rainy, the Primary children also made Thai owls. In Thailand, children love to fly kites and often have competitions where one kite knocks another to the ground. We made kites like the ones sold in markets in Thailand.

Before the rain started up again, we decided to head outside for some brief playtime in the garden. We didn't get to have water play today because it was so wet and muddy, but we did have fun.

It was a rainy day today but we made the best of it! Ms. Julie read several stories and we danced and sang to music.

Then we got to play some parachute games!

Everyone enjoyed cleaning off the tables for lunch and snack. After all the paint and markers we used it was very satisfying to scrub the table until it was spotless.

The children are all blurry because they were scrubbing so fast!

The primary children also enjoyed some time playing with the parachute before heading home for the day.

He was fascinated by the blueberries - every few minutes he wanted to see if they were ripe yet!

Examining the blueberry (not quite ripe!)

Then, we came inside to sing the continents song, find Europe on the globe and hear some cultural stories about Europe. Our stories included learning about dancers in Germany, seeing someone in costume for St. Lucia's day in Sweden, talking about tree climbers in Scotland (scaling a tree that is three centuries old!), among other exciting stories about real people, places, homes, and products found in Europe.

We worked up quite an appetite! For snack, we made watermelon "pizza" with shredded carrots, sliced sweet peppers, blueberries and bananas for toppings (representing Italy) and some pretzels (representing Germany).

Our art project today was to make a mosaic using colorful construction paper. The children decided on the design that they wanted and had a great time working on their art!

Before we knew it, it was time for outdoor water play! The children had a blast with the water, shaving cream and cornstarch.

A car wash!

We had a 'wonderful' time and hope you'll join us for our last Wonderful Wednesday of the summer next week. We'll be traveling to Asia!

After some lovely playtime in the garden, we came in to hear cultural stories about Africa. Once we identified Africa on the globe, we talked about Serengeti National Park, Sahara Desert, the Masai people, African animals (elephants, lions, snakes, monkeys) and about African homes and clothing. One of the favorite stories was of the baobob tree and how it collects water in it's trunk!

Snack today was a combination of watermelon (elephants LOVE it, too!) and hummus and chips. The children also loved snack!

The first art project today was to decorate an African drum using four Adinkra symbols with a special meaning representing love (a heart), rhythm (a drum), patience (a crescent moon) and strength (a quatrefoil). These stamps are the same as the Asante people of Ghana use to decorate cloth squares. We also talked about how specific colors can hold meaning. For example, yellow can represent the sun, white can represent peace, green can symbolize growth.

The primary children also made a special hat called a Kufi out of paper. Usually it is made from a kente cloth, which is a material made in Ghana. Once we were done making our paper Kufi's, we heard the daring African tale of "Honey, Honey Lion" by Jan Brett.

Soon, it was time for water play in the garden!

After lunch, we had our very own African drum circle! (click on link to see video)

A 'wonderful' time was had by all! We hope you'll join us next week as we travel to Europe!

Today we visited South America! After some time to play in the garden, we jumped into Cultural Stories about real people, places, animals and products from South America. We talked about the waddle of penguins on an iceberg at the tip of Argentina, the macaw soaring through the Amazon Rain forest, the gaucho using his lasso, and many more!

This story was a favorite! We shared a real Peruvian Tapestry and also had a lovely story about a Bolivian one (pictured at the right). The children loved making observations about each and identifying characteristics that are similar and different.

For our snack today we made Strawberry Mango smoothies and had some popcorn (corn being a main product of South America). It was delicioso!

Our art project today was to decorate mariposas (butterflies) just like the ones you would see in the Amazon Rain forest.

The Primary aged children also made Chilean rainsticks. They had a parade in the room and enjoyed shaking their rainsticks. After, they heard the story of how real rainsticks are made from dried cactus, the cactus thorns and pebbles. They also heard how the Chilean people use the rainsticks in the desert because they believe it helps to bring the rain when they need it most. We also found Chile on the globe and talked about its shape.

Soon, it was time for water play in the garden!

In addition to the water, shaving cream and a cornstarch + water mixture made for some fun sensory play in the garden.

A 'wonderful' time was had by all! We hope to see you next Wednesday, July 17, as we travel to Africa!